Development of the martial art Hapkido is usually attributed to Yong
Sool Choi, however, there is dispute over who first used the term "Hapkido" and
when. Despite this dispute, Hapkido is a Korean martial art that emerged into the
main stream after World War II.

The English translation of the words Hap, Ki, and Do is "the way of
coordinated power". There are three universal principles in Hapkido.

Yu (Water) - penetrate an attacker by flowing through his defenses

Won (Circular Motion) - redirect attacks in a circular direction

Hwa (Harmony) - remain relaxed and do not counter force with force

Combat Hapkido is a style of Hapkido and is
fully sanctioned by the Korean Ki Do Federation. It was founded by Grandmaster John
Pellegrini in 1990 to be a modern, realistic, and effective style of self defense.
Grandmaster P also refers to his style as the "Science of Self
Defense" because the system is based on anatomy and biomechanics.

The driving principle of Combat Hapkido is 100% Self Defense. It
is not a new Martial Art developed from "lost" and "secret"
techniques. Such claims are the tools of marketing agents and charlatans (that may
be redundant). Grandmaster P adapted traditional Hapkido to become a practical
system of self defense for any body style in a modern society.

Combat Hapkido can also be described by what it does not include:

No Forms, Katas, or Hyungs of any kind

No aerobic kicks. All kicks are directed to the lower half of the
body

No blocks. Combat Hapkido redirects attacks

No formal stances

No board or brick breaking

No competitions or tournaments

For additional information, check out some of these links:

For a more inclusive history of Hapkido visit Master Rowe's page at the American
Tae Kwan Do and Hapkido Academy in Nebraska.